Modern Dance of the Dead: Focus Im Obersteg Collection

6 March–2 September 2018

Exhibition Overview

In this exhibition we look at artists from Basel who at the beginning of the 20th century addressed the ephemeral nature of existence in their work. Death as an omnipresent theme is an age-old subject: Emanuel Büchel’s watercolor of “The Basel Dance of the Dead” references a long-gone pre-Reformation era. Indeed, the Medieval theme remained topical even in the early 20th century.

In 1920, Otto Plattner addressed the subject with its significant relevance for Basel in a caricaturing portfolio that is now part of the Im Obersteg Collection. In addition to Otto Plattner’s work, the exhibition also showcases pieces by Niklaus Stoecklin, Kurt Seligmann and Charles Hindenlang.